May 03, 2018

So You have been Waking Up with Neck Pain and Cannot Figure out Why

This happens to many people, especially for those who have a history of neck pain. Perhaps they have had a previous neck surgery, or they had a whiplash type of accident.

Getting the right pillow with the RIGHT Support for your neck can make a big difference in how you sleep. A pillow that allows you have the proper c curve in your neck when you are sleeping is ideal. A contoured neck pillow such as the arc4life traction pillow or the tricore neck pillow are two pillows that allow this while you sleep. With both of these pillows you can sleep on your back and on your side. This is important because we all move around while we sleep.

Both of these contoured neck pillows that I have mentioned above are composed of fiber. Overtime, fiber breaks down. Depending on the composition of your pillow, your fiber pillow may break down faster than others. In other words, if the fiber pillow is very firm to begin with, the breakdown of the fibers will occur more slowly, then a pillow that is not as stuffed. Case in point: the Tricore pillow is very firm pillow, it will not break down as quickly as the Arc4life traction pillow, which is not as firm. Hence the tricore pillow will last longer than the arc4life pillow. However you will be using a firmer pillow to begin with.

For many patients who use a contoured pillow because of a neck condition, they often do have to change up their neck pillow. They may notice that they wake up with neck pain, or soreness. The pain may be mild or very noticeable. Other symptoms may not be so subtle: numbness and tingling, weakness in the upper extremity. If you are using a pillow that helps with these symptoms, then you want to continue using this pillow.

April 03, 2018

Which Size to Order? Here is a question our team at Arc4life gets asked quite a bit. It is an important question to ask when you deciding what pillow to buy.

For our purposes in this post, I am going to be talking about arc4life's cervical linear traction neck pillow that is available on arc4life.com.

What is the right size of pillow to buy? Small, Medium or Large

Many people erroneously assume that they should order a large pillow because they sleep on a king sized bed mattress. At Arc4life we do not recommend this. You should buy an Arc4life Pillow based on your height and weight.

So here are some guidelines that can help you choose. Remember there are no hard and fast rules, these are guidelines. We have been selling our neck pillows since 2003, and have talked to many customers along the way.

If you are petite person, the pillow may be too large for you. So if you are 5'0 and weigh 110 lbs and are a petite framed person, you may want to consider the arc4life traction pillow in the small size: 20"x15" This is the same arc4life traction "V" pillow, however is has shrunken in length, width and thickness

An alternate pillow in a smaller size, such as the arc4life linear gravity neck pillow in the small size. However, if you prefer and find it comfortable to sleep on a standard size pillow, then the medium standard size will be okay for you. Just sleep on the support roll side of the pillow.

Hope this helps you choose the right pillow for your particular needs. We know that everybody is different, and one pillow does not work for all. We commonly will have a customer that is of a petite stature order a medium or a large pillow. If you have any questions, contact arc4life. You can email us, or call us. We respond pretty quickly.

March 16, 2018

What do You Have Going on In Your Neck?

If you suffer with stiff neck and neck pain, getting a simple flat neck pillow will not help you. You need something more, such as a contoured neck pillow. If you have been diagnosed with a degeneration in your c spine, a herniated disc, or bulging disc, you need a specialized Pillow as well.

What's So Special About the Arc4life Traction Neck Pillow?

This is a contoured neck pillow that that allows you to have the proper curvature, while you sleep on your back or on your side. There are also two important sides to this pillow: 1) a traction side in the shape of V- this side gently stretches your neck while you sleep on your back. 2) a Neck Roll Side - this side supports your neck in the most optimal alignment. You can sleep on both sides of this pillow. Keep in mind that the traction side is firmer, the neck roll side is softer. Both sides work well for someone who has a neck condition or suffers with neck pain.

February 27, 2018

Tired of having a closet full of neck pillows? Well I write quite extensively about pillows and let me tell you I have heard this comment many times - people are sick and tired of ordering the wrong pillow. They try one, it doesn't work - they move on, and ching ching - they order a new one ! The pillows all end up in the closet or their pet uses the pillow as a sleeping bed.

Do you have a Closet Full of Pillows?

Here are some factors to consider to ordering successfully the right pillow the first time:

Size Matters It is important, especially in the case of THIS neck pillow, to order the right size. One example is the Linear Gravity Neck Pillow which comes in 3 sizes: Small, Medium and Large. Too many customers are ordering this neck pillow because of their mattress size. So for example, they sleep on a king size bed every night. They automatically assume that they should order the large pillow. Same goes for the medium pillow. They order the medium because they sleep on a queen size mattress. Arc4life recommends that you order based on your OWN height and weight and frame. Don't be afraid to contact the pillow company to choose the best size.

What is the level of firmness with the Pillow?For the majority of users, a firm pillow is not the answer. So when ordering a pillow check to see if the pillow comes in a gentle or firm version. For example, the tricore pillow comes in a "gentle" and firm. If you are not sure, order the gentle - it will be easier to get used to.

What is the pillow composed of ?Polyester fiber fill? Water? Foam? Check the materials the pillow is made out of. For some people, for example, they are allergic to latex. Some people are very sensitive to the odor given off by a memory foam pillow, and literally cannot get used to it. Check the composition of the pillow.

Does the Pillow have instructions on how to use it?If the pillow comes with instructions, read them. This is important. The Arc4life traction pillow for example comes with an 8 page booklet on how to use the pillow. For example, Arc4life recommends that you sleep on the support of the pillow to start. It is easier to get adjusted too.

Is There an Adjustment Period?This is often the case with many cervical support pillows. For some customers they can sleep on a new pillow the entire night with no problems whatsoever. For others they have a lot of sensitivity or pain in their neck. For example, pre existing neck or shoulder pain, muscle spasms or trigger points - they may need to slowly adjust to a new pillows contours . 5-10 minutes the first night, an additional 5-10 minutes the next night etc.

What is the purpose of you ordering a new pillow? This is a great question, that actually you should ask yourself before you hit BUY. Are you having neck surgery in 30 days and need a recovery pillow? Are you looking to stretch your neck because you have a herniated disc? Are you looking to replace your old pillow? If your old pillow worked for you, order the same pillow. Are you have arthritis pain in your neck? Do you have bad posture because you have a desk job and are constantly looking at the the computer? Think about purpose, before you buy.

When in doubt of how to use or even WHICH pillow to buys, contact the pillow company. Email them, facebook them, there are often multiple ways to get in touch in this technical day of ours. Heck, its better than owning a closet full of pillows.

February 26, 2018

My 19th month old loves her naps. In fact, she is taking one right now. For some people taking a short snooze in the middle of the day can help to improve the quality of their sleep at night time.

A 2015 study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that short naps actually can reduce stress. Having less stress levels make it easier to fall asleep at night. You should try to take naps that are no longer than 20 to 30 minutes. Taking too long of a nap can interfere with your night time sleep schedule. This is one simple strategy you can do to get better sleep at night.

January 17, 2018

One of the pillows we recommend here on the Neck Pillow Queen Blog is the Arc4life Traction Pillow. This pillow is often recommended for patients who have cervical stenosis, herniated disc, neck pain, numbness and tingling, headaches etc. Recently I received an inquiry from a customer who received an Arc4life Traction V Pillow. But she wasn’t sure if she received the right pillow:

“Hi ,I received the pillow in the mail. I don’t think it’s the correct one. I wanted the “V” shape pillow. The conformation email when I placed the order shows the “V” shape pillow as well. Please advise. I would like the “V” shape pillow. Thank you, R.S "

Look at the image below; you will see the two sides of the arc4life traction pillow outlined for you:

The Support and Traction V Side of the Arc4life Pillow

a. The Neck Support Side of the pillow - this is part of the neck pillow that neck support in the form of a neck roll ( Like a cylinder ).

b. The Traction V Side of the pillow - there is a actual "V" that comes out at you. The V is what gives your neck the gentle stretch.

Hopefully, this clarifies for my readers the two parts of the arc4life traction neck pillow.

January 07, 2018

One of my favorite exercise accessories to wear has been a fitness band, specifically a fitbit. It helps me lose many pounds because it kept me on track for getting the 10 000 steps I needed daily. Another bonus of wearing the fitbit is that it collects data. Lots of data.

In fact, did you know that the Fitbit people have collected 16 billion tidbits of data. That's 16 billion nights of Sleep from customers. Pretty amazing. So what is some of the data that they have gathered?

Women sleep 25 minutes more than men at night

Women get an average of 6 hrs 50 minutes vs Men who who get an average of 6 hrs 26 mintues of sleep every night. By the way, the recommended amount is 8 hours (now i don't feel so bad)

40% of women have trouble falling asleep

The amount of deep sleep we get every night decreases with age

The average american goes to bed at 11:41 pm every night

People who live in Las Vegas have the least variation in what time they go to bed. People who lived in Boston have the most variation in bedtimes. This is very important data because the data shows a link between bedtime consistency and sleep quality.The more your bedtime varies, the more your quality of sleep is affected.

Lots of cool data that will help us uncover even more information about sleep cycles and how we sleep. If you are having trouble sleeping, consider wearing a fitbit to bed. Its way easier and more convenient than going to a sleep study.

December 05, 2017

Are cervical pillows helpful? I have a straightened neck, causing neck stiffness, pain and numbness on my right shoulder. What are some suggestions, apart from physical therapy?

The short answer is that a cervical pillow with contours can help a straightened neck.

The neck is comprised of seven vertebrae or bones, that are lined up in the shape of the letter C. Over time, with poor posture, whiplash, neck injuries, the neck can lose this C shaped curve or cervical lordosis. When this happens, you have a straightened neck curve also known as a military neck. That means your neck is straight up-and-down, there is no neck curve. So here are a few things that you can do to help this straightened neck curve. You have to keep in mind that this neck curve didn’t become straightened overnight, it took many years to become like this.

Start by sleeping on a contour neck pillow. And example of this is the TriCore cervical orthopedic neck pillow or the Arc4life traction pillow. Another thing you can do is use a neck traction device. Neck traction basically stretches out the neck. If you use a device like the posture pump 1100 you can help to put that curve back in the spine. Having a contour pillow will also prevent you from waking up with neck and shoulder pain in the morning.

November 28, 2017

If you wake up every morning with a stiff neck or headaches, you may not be sleeping on the right pillow. Making a simple change in your pillow can make a difference. Most people look to their mattress to make the change. If you look at your pillow it is a simpler change you can make. Is your pillow too hard, too soft, too low, too high, too dense, too large or too small???

Today I want to share a video to show you how you can make sure the pillow you are using is right:

November 18, 2017

Choosing a pillow with the right height is very important for the health and posture of your cervical spine. We discussed in Part 1 of this post yesterday. It really depends on the person sleeping on the pillow to determine the right pillow height.

Try to buy pillows that come in a few sizes and not a one size fits all. For example, the arc4life traction pillow: It comes in 3 sizes: small (20"x15"), medium (24'x7") and large (28"x17"). Sure, the majority of people do order the medium size, but there are a fair number of people in the population who the small and large are better suited for.

If you were for example, 5′0 and had a very petite frame, the small would be great for you. The ht of this pillow is about 1″. If you were 5′2- 5′10, I would recommend the medium size for you. The ht of this pillow is about 3–4″.

If you were over 6 ft and built like football player, or needed a bigger pillow, I would recommend a large size to you. The Arc4life pillow also comes in a large size as well. Ht of this pillow is approximately 4–5 “.

If you are a smaller person but order a pillow that is too large, your ht will be pushed forward. That is not a good scenario. You could wake up with neck pain, stiff neck and an ache. Your muscles would be very tight and generally you would not be happy.

Your height, weight and frame are first thing to look at when choosing the right pillow height. The 2nd thing is to evaluate what happens when you lay down on the pillow. What is happening to your spine when you are 1. sleeping on your side 2. sleeping on your back.

If your neck is raised up or too low, you do not have the correct pillow height. ? If yes, the pillow is too large for you.

You will know that you don't have the right pillow height by how you feel when you lay on the pillow. One important tip, have someone look at your neck position while laying on your back and on your side.

How Your Neck Should be Positioned At Night

An incorrect pillow height puts un necessary stress on your neck and back muscles, joints and bones. You may feel immediate pain, or you may wake up with neck pain, neck stiffness or an ache. You may also wake up with a headache.

May 2018

Your Stop for Neck Pain Relief

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